A Little Push
by BrandyontheRocks
Summary: Was it just a game? Was it! Because I've got one bullet left and it says "I Quit." Joker/OC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Don't own, don't own, don't own.

Chapter 1

The wind was blowing her hair, leaving it to wisp around her face. Her eyes were wide, the brown color clashing with the stormy back drop behind her. The light drizzle of rain failed in its job to wash her out, instead it made her skin glisten. Made her strikingly beautiful.

Her stare was hard, meaningful. It was necessary to get her point across. She knew this was her last chance at this. Her only chance. Jaw set, she stared at the man in front of her.

Any sane person would be terrified in her position. Would be deathly afraid of what the man might do next. But not her, no she was scared of something completely different. The words wouldn't come out so she continued to stare him down, hoping he was getting her silent message.

She shuffled her feet just a touch and knocked a small rock behind her. And as she broke her concentration to glance down, seeing the backs of her heels against the edge of the bridge, the rock falling to the raging water below, she wondered, _How did I get here?_

_

* * *

_

"They say the captain goes down with the ship, so when the world ends, will God go down with it?" The music blared from the speakers as she drove down the highway. To where? She really didn't care, all she knew was that she needed to get the hell out of dodge and never look back. At the slight age of 21, Persephone had lived through too much, seen too much, and now she wanted a change of pace. She packed her bags, threw them in the back of her small Honda and hit the road running.

She drummed her hands against the steering wheel, singing along to the song, "I've got troubled thoughts and the self esteem to match and what a catch, what a catch!" Something about belting out lyrics as loud as she could soothed her, even if she knew she most definitely wasn't the next idol.

Looking out she could see the skies darken and knew she'd have to find a rest stop soon. Keeping her eyes peeled for the next sign she continued on the road. Finally, one showed up "GOTHAM CITY LIMITS"

_Gotham, huh? Gotham…Gotham…Gotham….Sounds like home._

As she came upon the city though, she almost wanted to change her decision. The sky was filled with smog, the roads dark. The people, well there was something about them she couldn't quite put her finger on. They shuffled down the street, some in a hurry, some lazily, some just standing, but as the skies darkened and night drew closer she could see them all get the same look in their eyes. Fear.

She found a motel just in the city limits and luckily got a room in time. The clerk just about to lock up, "We don't stay open late in these parts, not anymore," he had said. She didn't stop to give it much thought, she just wanted to sleep.

That was her first mistake. 'Always be aware.' It was her one rule and she almost always followed it. But as the door shut with a click behind her; she didn't notice the eyes that watched her go.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to diggydawg, Bloodroot Godot, griZzlyAngel, and TheJoker'sGotMyHeart for the reviews! Heads up, there's some language and violence in this chapter.

Chapter Two

The room wasn't much, but she didn't expect it to be the Hilton. There was a small bed framed by a nightstand and lamp on each side against the wall in the center of the room. She was surprised by the television in the corner on top of a beat up dresser. She could see an open door leading to a small bathroom. It was small, but much better than sleeping in her car for another night.

While she had planned on going straight to sleep, a shower sounded too good to pass up. Still carrying her bag she headed straight into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She started the shower, a rusty brown spraying the bottom of the tub before turning the clear, clean color one would expect.

She let out a sigh as she stared at herself in the mirror. The dark purple underneath her eyes stood out against the sallow pale of her skin. Her eyes looked tired, worn down, and red from hours of driving with no rest. Her tongue ran over her chapped lips, ironically caused from doing just that. Another sigh and she started to strip.

As soon as the warm water hit her back she was relaxed. It felt so good to finally have rest. She washed away all the dirt and sweat from her trip, rinsed the oil away from her hair. Once her washing was finished she still stood under the water, just letting it roll over her and massage her cramped muscles.

After the water had started to cool, she was finally ready to get out. As her hand reached out to turn the knob she heard a faint shuffling outside the door. And while Persephone wasn't paranoid, she also knew better safe than sorry. Leaving the water running she quickly toweled off and put her clothes on as quietly as possible. The shuffling was a bit louder and she could hear drawers being opened and closed. Looking through her bag she realized she didn't have anything to protect herself with, so she grabbed the top to the back of the toilet bowl. Holding it tightly she turned the doorknob and pushed it open.

She was greeted with the sight of three burly men. Two were standing far off by the room door, the other looking through the nightstand. They all looked up and one by the door started to leer at her.

"Well lookit what we've got here boys!" He smirked and started to head toward her, "Now what'sa purty lil' thang like you doin' all by yourself?"

Not knowing what to do, but not wanting to seem scared, she straightened her back and stared him down. "Get the fuck out of my room."

"Well thas not tha way a lady shoul' talk." With a frown he lunged at her. With a yelp, Persephone pulled back and swung the toilet bowl cover at him. A loud crack echoed through the room as the man went down, blood pouring from the side of his skull.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID YOU FUCKING BITCH!" The guy by the nightstand shouted as he charged toward her. Still shocked and not knowing what to do, she started to throw everything in his path. Down went the television followed by the dresser. The lamp shattered against the wall as it was chucked next. The nightstand drawer then went, it hit him square in the chest, but that only seemed to infuriate him. Finally, she grabbed the nightstand itself, and threw it as hard as she could, as it sailed through the air and struck its target, she wondered where all this strength came from. He went down without a sound and only the man by the door was left.

Her breath was ragged, wet hair hung in her face as she stared at him. His eyes looked around the room and as they landed on his fallen partners she could see the anger in them. He started toward her, slow and calculating. She looked around for anything to defend herself with, see the fallen toilet bowl back, she reached for it. But it was too late; the man had reached her and grabbed her by the throat.

"Without your weapons what are you bitch?" His breath blew on her face as he spoke. "Fuckin' weak! That's what!" He threw her into the bathroom and she slid across the floor. Her head knocked against the bathtub, she could feel the skin there split and her blood leak out. Her eyes crossed as she looked up at her attacker. "Bitch, think you're tough now?"

He grabbed her legs and pulled her across the floor toward him. "Let's see how fuckin' tough you are." He pulled her up by the front of her shirt and looked down at her face, "Any thing you wanna say bitch?"

As she looked in his eyes she could see that he was going to kill her. And if that was how it was going to be she wasn't going down without a fight.

"Heh, yea, fuck you," and with that she spit in his face. While not the most productive or smart of moves, it got her point across. He reached up with one had to wipe it away and then backhanded her hard across the face. Blood began to puddle in her mouth at the shot and she kept laughing. "That the best you got? I thought I was the bitch?"

With a roar he grabbed her and threw her up against the wall. Holding her there by the throat he slipped a hand on the waistband of her pants. "Fuck me? Oh no, I think it's fuck you bitch."

Panic gripped her as she realized what he wanted to do. She started to struggle with all her might, kicking and clawing at his hands. He smacked her again and while she was momentarily stunned, he took the opportunity to pull her pants off. Pressing against her, he gripped one leg and pulled it around his waist and he roughly rubbed his hips against hers. Using his body to hold her against the wall he rubbed his cheek against her breasts. Though she still had her shirt on she could feel his facial hair scratching her.

Tears pricked at her eyes realizing the position she was in. But with his hands holding her legs she was able to breathe. Taking one deep breath in, she let out a blood curdling scream. Another hit shut her up. He grabbed her and threw her back on the floor.

"Fuckin' bitch! You tryin' to make me deaf?" She scurried across the floor crouching by the bathtub as he advanced toward her. Her eyes darted around the room looking for anything that would help her, something to use for defense. _Please, please, please. Not this. Someone help me. Please!_ Her thoughts were panicked as the man got closer.

"A he he heh heh ee hee a hah hah hah." The laughter pierced though the room. "Now what's with all the noise?" The man turned and blocked her view of whoever was talking.

"Hey man! Get the fuck out of here! I saw her first, get your own bitch!"

"Now, now no need to get so.. uh.. testy." The shuffling of steps could be heard as the mystery voice stepped further into the room. "I was just.. uh.. taking some time for myself when I..eh..heard all the _noise_."

"Well I'll be sure to keep it down, now get the fuck out!" The steps came even closer. Over the shoulder of the man she could see a pair of eyes peer down at her.

"Huh doesn't look like the lady wants to be here." He stepped back and looked the man. "You know, you remind me of someone."

"What the hell? You're fuckin' crazy, you're a freak!" All of a sudden, she could see a gloved hand grab the back of the man's head and bring him forward.

"I'm not. No, I'm not." She couldn't see what was going on, but the man was silent now. Reaching up she gingerly touched her head, pulling back she could see blood coating her fingertips. She knew she more than likely had a concussion and must stay awake, but she didn't want either of the men to get her. Grabbing the towel she used earlier she tried to stop her bleeding as she thought of a way out of this situation.

"Ya wanna know how I got these scars? I had a friend, big guy, kinda like you. Always used to go out, tells me I outta come out more. Tells me I'm too boring. So, one night I decide to join him, we go out and have a _ball_. But my friend has a little too much to drink, gets a little crazy! He comes at me with a knife shouting at me, 'why so serious?' he slides the knife in my mouth, 'let's put a smile on your face!' he says. Annnnnd why so serious?"

She heard the man scream and then a thud as he fell to the ground. It was quiet for a moment, but then she heard steps coming toward her. Brown shoes followed by purple clad legs came into her view. She closed her eyes scared of what would happen next.

"Why hello beautiful." The voice was quiet, a bit rough, but not the deep and scary or the high pitched tones used before. Peeking out she saw black eyes looking back at her. His head was cocked to the side; face painted white, eyes surrounded by black. Green tinged hair hung in greasy strings. His lips were painted bright red and she could see the rough edges of scars at his lips' edge.

They both continued to stare at each other. And as her vision blurred, the loss of blood finally bringing the unconscious that she had been fighting, she tried to speak. Reaching out toward her savior, her fingers lightly brushed the scars.

"So beautiful." And then the darkness took over.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks to Madness is me, nicole napier, and 00 BodySnatcher for reviewing! I really appreciate it and sorry it's taken so long to get this out!

Chapter Three

Pain. That was the first thing that registered as she came to. A dull throbbing pain that started at the crown of her head and radiated all the way down. Her eyes felt heavy, glued shut from the sleep that had built up while she had rested.

Using the palms of her hands she pushed herself into a sitting position, her hair pulling tightly against the blood that had held it captive against the side of the tub. Her neck screamed in protest as she rolled it around trying to get used to the movement again.

_What happened last night? _Around her lay a bloodied towel and she didn't fail to notice the missing piece of toilet. Gingerly, she touched the back of her head and fell the dried blood caked over a sizeable lump. Gripping the counter she hauled herself up and looked in the mirror shocked by what she saw.

Large black and purple bruises glittered across her face and neck. Her lip was split and more blood had crusted around it. Her cheeks swollen from the obvious abuse she had endured. _What in the hell? _She traced her fingers around her face, across her chin and up to her forehead. Pulling away she noticed the fresh red on her fingertips. _More blood? _

"Paint?" And with a rush it all came back. The men, how she attacked them. The one that tried to rape her. Then strange man in the clown paint that had saved her.

Reaching over she turned the hot water on and waited for it to heat up. _Why were those men here? Why did he save me? Why not kill me too?_ She ran the thoughts over and over in her head. Cupping her hands under the water she splashed it on her face and then began to rinse all the blood away. Once that was done she braced herself for the carnage outside the door.

When she turned the handle and pushed, it swung all the way open. Not stopping on bodies or missing bathroom pieces outside like she'd expected.

No, the room was empty. No bodies, no blood, no broken furniture. Nothing. It was exactly how it looked when she first stepped in. The bed was made, television still on the dresser. No broken lamps. _What?_

She walked straight to the door and pulled it open. She had to be in a different room, a different place. But the same number glared back at her. This was the room. _Did the man do it? Well, of course he did it idiot, who else would? _She shook her head and decided to leave. It was all too weird.

She grabbed her bag and dropped the keys off at the office. It wasn't until she was sitting in her car waiting for it to warm up that she felt safe. Just as she was about to pull out of the parking lot she noticed the little piece of paper stuck under her windshield wiper. _Church flier? Someone trying to save me? A little late for that._

Her fingers grasped it and pulled it back in. _A playing card?_

_A joker?_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I am so sorry this has taken so long! I just didn't know exactly where this was going. Thank you for all the author/story alerts, it really means a lot to me. And special thanks to the reviews on the last chapter from Madness is me, Rookie Starling, and vibra! And without further ado, here's the next chapter!

Chapter Four

It had been two weeks since the incident at the motel and life had been quiet since then. Persephone had found an apartment just within the city limits and while it wasn't the greatest area or the nicest of places, it was hers and that was enough. She has also found a job at the local used bookstore, luckily it was within walking distance so she could keep Ole Rusty parked at home.

After another long day trying to hock books at strangers who just wanted to use the public restroom, she packed up her bag and headed out.

"Bye Jesse, I'll see ya tomorrow!" Her manager stuck his head out of the office door and shot her a crooked smile and nodded his head.

"Later 'Seph! I'll have your check ready in the mornin'!" He was quite the looker with shaggy hair and tattoos that covered both arms. But she had issues with mixing business and pleasure, meaning she needed the job to keep clothes on her back more than she needed him to tap that ass.

The air was brisk as it hit her skin and she was glad that she had brought her jacket for once. The sky was dark and it looked like it might rain later in the night. Unlike most the rain was her favorite part of Gotham. The blackened sky and the crack of lightening that would light up the gray clouds reminded her of home.

Two blocks from her apartments, aptly named Goth Heights, she felt her sixth sense kick in. Since her attack, every once in a while she felt as if someone was watching her. The pierce of eyes on her was back and she quickened her pace hoping to make it home quick.

Glancing behind her she couldn't see anyone following her, but still felt eyes on her form. Turning back she picked up pace even more. _I'm loosing it, I swear I'm loosing it. _Listening harder she heard quickened footsteps behind her and as she rounded the next corner and a strong hand gripped her arm firmly and spun her around.

Screaming she lashed out at the figure hoping to do damage, but her lack of a workout regimen left her arms weak.

"'Seph! 'Seph! It's just me! It's Jesse!" He grabbed both of her wrists in his hands and she abruptly stopped and stared up at him.

"Jesse! What the hell? Don't sneak up on me like that!" Her face was flushed with embarrassment. And she pulled her arms from his grasp to stuff them in the pockets of her coat. "What're you doing here?"

It was his turn to blush as he reached behind him to pull a length of fabric out. "You left your scarf back at the store. I thought you might want it, since ya know, it's cold and stuff." He thrust the fabric towards her and stood awkwardly while she put it on.

"Oh. Thanks Jes, I completely forgot about it. Man, you scared me though." _And of course I'll embarrass myself in front of him and look crazy. _

"Yeah, I could tell. Um, well, listen, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He started to take a couple steps back and Persephone was left to just nod her head. _Way to scare another one off, ya douche._

"Yeah, sure. See you tomorrow." Left just to think about the awkward encounter she turned to again start heading home.

"Hey! Wait! Actually, there was something else. I know it's kind of weird because I'm technically your boss and all but if it's cool with you, do you wanna go out tomorrow after work?"

"Oh, well, um…" Too stunned to say anything substantial, Jesse took her stuttering as rejection and started to turn away.

"No, it's cool, I understand. I was too forward, huh? No, don't worry about it." Knowing she had to act quick she threw caution to the wind and grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Wait, I'd love to go out with you. Tomorrow after work, let's do it." Smiling quickly, she leaned up and pecked him on the cheek. And before she lost her nerve or made a fool of herself she ducked around the corner and headed up the steps to her apartment.

_I can't believe I just did that! What happened to no mixing it up at work? Oh, well, he's too cute to pass up. Maybe Gotham was the right choice after all. _

Stepping inside, she made sure to lock the door behind her before throwing all her things on the floor next to the futon. Following the routine she'd set up for herself she stripped and headed for the shower. Letting the water flow over her and wash the day away, she ignored everything around her and daydreamed about her date tomorrow. Getting out, she wrapped herself in a towel and turned toward the mirror.

"What the heck?"

Taped to the mirror was another joker card, but this time words were scrawled in bright red across it.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Beautiful."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks to MorganaChicka, Rookie Starling, QuickeningPulse, vibra, mogget861, SakuraBlossom58, SkellySaurus, bellac611, and Gaara-frenzy for reviewing! It's much appreciated!

Chapter Five

Her heart pounded in her chest at the sight of the card. How did it get there? What did it mean that they'd be, "seeing her soon?" It was mysterious and she was a girl that hated mystery. Being a straightforward girl, the main thing she wanted to know was _who the fuck put this on my mirror and how did they get inside?_

She tore the card from the mirror and marched to the kitchen intent on calling the police but as soon as she picked up the phone she noticed an anomaly in her dining room. There plain as day was a purple trench coat slung over the back of one of the chairs. Stepping closer, she hesitantly reached out to pick it up.

"Ah ta ta, I wouldn't do that sugar." A warm breath tickled her ear as she shrieked and turned around to face the intruder. A painted face stared back at her, dark brown eyes surrounded by kohl peered into her while a wide red grin stretched across his face.

"W-who are you?" Persephone hated that her voice trembled as she spoke. She wanted to be strong, wanted to be fearless in the face of this unknown assailant.

"Aw, doll. I'm hurt. You really don't know who I am? Must not watch the news much. The Joker at your service, but you can call me Joker." He bent at the waist in a mocking bow and extended his hand out.

Her gut instinct told her to grab the nearest chair and hit him over the head with it and run like her life depended on; which in reality it probably did. _He's already made it in my house, I doubt I could take him out. _Her heart was still pounding in her chest but if she was going to go out, it'd be with courage.

Taking his hand in hers she gave a gentle shake, "How do you do? I'm Persephone. I've gotta say, you sure do have manners for someone doing a B and E." _When in Rome…_

A bellowing laugh answered her, "I knew you'd be a riot doll! As soon as I set eyes on you in that motel, I knew." Flashes of that night came to her. _The clown that saved me! Of course, I'm such an idiot._

Feeling a bit safer but still keeping her guard up she motioned for him to sit and took the seat in front of him. "The motel? So it was you that saved me?"

Cackling, he smacked his knees as he bounced them up and down. "Silly girl! Of course it was me! Who else but the Clown Prince of Crime will run around with a face as pretty as this."

"And now? Now what do you want? Why are you here?"

Now his grin grew wider, eyes became more menacing. He leaned forward, grasping the edges of her chair with both hands, dragging it toward him. Her knees settled between his thighs as he leaned his face into hers. She could feel his breath as it fanned over her face. Could see the lines where his paint had creased around his eyes._ I wonder what he looks like without the mask. _

"What do I want girl?" Though it seemed impossible his grin grew just a little wider. Head tilted down as he stared at her. His voice dropping low and deep. "Now I want to play a game."


End file.
